Injury report rises to 40 in Brooklyn fire

Nine people remain in critical condition a day after fire raced through a Brooklyn apartment building, the Associated Press reported today. Fire officials raised the number of injured to 40, up from a report of 31 issued shortly after the blaze.

One firefighter and eight other people were critical; the injuries to the firefighter and four of the others were non-life-threatening, AP says.

Coughing, soot-covered residents fled using fire escapes as flames swallowed a swath of apartments and two stores, the New York Daily News reported.

"I just smelled smoke, and we jumped out onto the fire escape," Jian Xiong Wu, 41, who lives on the third floor, told the News.

"I could see the firefighters pulling people out the building. It was awful to see," said Bobby Smith, 49, a construction worker who lives across the street.

The fire broke out around 5 a.m. Sunday and was brought under control about two and a half hours later. The cause of the blaze is under investigation.

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